Improvement in crutches



which. is a' cushion ors `of thetwo springsAA inward to ed vfron one to the other of them, midway between theband D and the said arm arm. i v l Within the.lower.part of :the taperingsocket, a, lthere is ascrewlnut, b,

- chamber-or recess,

UNITED STATESV PATENT' .OFFICE IMPROVEMENT IN ouuToHEs.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No; '36,743,d ated October 21, 1862.

To all whom it may-concern.- g

j Be it known that I, J osHUA WHITTEMORE, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and a resident of South Reading, in the county of .Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have made'a'n inventionof ycertain new and useful;

.Improvements in Crutches for the ,Use of Laine 4 Persons; I' fully described in the following 'specification and represented iu' the .accompanying draw-- and I do hereby declare the same tobe ings, of which- FignrelV denotes au elevation or side'view,

provided with my iIIVention.

VThe standor b odyof the crutchis composed olf two separate springs, A-A, made of lancewood o r other suitable inaterial, andV shaped or formed as shown in Fig. l. These springs,

at or neartheir lower ends, arebrouglittogether and inserted within a ferrule or socket' piece, C,.above which and. atl the vertexr of their angle of departure they arev encompassed by'a'ring or band, D, of metal. At their uppe; ends the two springs are so connected lto thetwo extremities of ,a'gflexil'e arm-rest, E,

' at when the crutch is in use'goes under the shoulderjoint of a person andserves asa support thereto. Vhenever the weight of the b'ody of the person using' the crutch is borne upon the iiexile rest E, thelatter will becaused to bend under the 'same and draw the upper portions wardeac'hv other 'and against an abutmentbar, F, extendrest E:- The-sprin'gs not 'onlyzperforin the functionof giving support'to thebody of a' persou,`but cooperate with the lexile arm.

` rest 'inproducing an elastic be'ariugfor the crutch is a in the upper part of which for receiving a niale screw, c, which projects upward fronra jawcd socket-piece, H. This latter is made with a d, having a dovetailed forni. A .round "blocker-buffer, I, composed of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable elastic .inserted within and V made to project ontof such recess d, iuinannerasshown equivalcnt, .is

and about 'in Fig; 2. Above the recessd the jawed socket is formed so as to receive and grasp the shank 4of a metallic spur, K, :which extends down either through or intov the middle part of lthe elastic. bui'er.

The jawed socket-piece H is slit longitudinally 'by two crossed slits, e e, arranged at right' angles to each other, and isvmade withv a tapering form externally and. below ythe screwc, as shownin .the drawings.. l

Fig. 3 is a 4 view of the lower end of the .crutch and shows the arrangement of the slits e e, vthe elastic buffer, and the spur.' Fig. 4 'is a side view of the jawed .socket-piece H and its slits.

Byrevolv-ing the jawed socketpiece within the lcrutch-ferrule, so as.to cause the screw c to enter .the nut b, the jawsof the socket-piece will be closed upon both the spurand the buf fer, so as tohold'theni firmly in place.

. The buEer not only renders the crutch easier to a person while using it, but operates to jpreventthe foot `of the crutch from slipping ou ice or any smooth surface.4 The spur is an additionalpreventive also againstslip'ping of the. crutch, particularly when lthe surface borne upon 'In'ay be wet. The buer, `while a person may be in the actof using the crutch, will not .only relieve .him from the concussions incident to thedownward blows of the crutch, but will operate to prevent the noise which 'ordinarily results from a solid foot .of a crutch while in use..

1. 4The crutchfas made of two separate springbars, 'A A, and the flexile arm-rest E, 'substantially asspecifed.V

v 2.'.The .india-rubber `or elastic builer I,'in4 combination with. the crutch. provided with 'a socket or 4buffer-holder. v Y. 3.' 'The-combination of the spur li witn theelastic buiiermid the crutch.

4. The jawed 'socket-pIece, made in nianner .and touoperate as explained, in combination 

